Groupon chief Mason keeps his job - despite rubbish share price

Groupon boss Andrew Mason has managed to hang on to his seat at the top, despite rumours that the board was considering giving him the boot.

Reports that Mason's days might be numbered first appeared on AllThingsD, after which Mason said at a conference that he thought it would be strange if the board didn't consider sacking him.

"Here's a news flash: our stock is down about 80 per cent. It would be weird if the board wasn't discussing whether I'm the right guy to do the job. It's their chief responsibility to ask that question," he said. "If I ever thought I wasn't the right guy for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself."

Either Mason's willingness to fall upon his own sword or the prospect that he would be shown the door got investors excited and sent shares up 12 per cent on Wednesday.

After the board meeting yesterday, company spokesman Paul Taaffe said that Mason was staying on as CEO.

"The board and the management team are focused on the performance of the company and they are all working together with heads down to achieve Groupon's objectives," Taaffe said in an emailed statement to Reuters, The Guardian and others.

After a glittering market debut last year, Groupon's shares have steadily fallen as it fails to report significant profits and its business model starts to look shaky.

The novelty of the voucher bazaars seems to wearing off and both Groupon and its rival LivingSocial are trying to either reignite interest or diversify into other areas. Groupon has Goods now, which offers long-running deals on products, but the unit is too new to know if it's a big enough crutch or not. ®